A Mending Soul
by ShanandRay
Summary: When Nina and Amber are almost rape victims one night, Nina shuts down and can't seem trust anyone besides Amber. And Fabian, of course. Fabian takes on the responsibility of putting the little pieces of her shattered soul back together again. Fabina!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own House of Anubis. All rights go to…Nickelodeon, I guess. Only this storyline is mine. **

"Boys, I am taking Nina to that little boutique down the street. We'll be back in twenty minutes tops," Amber told us, grabbing Nina's arm and taking her closer to the exit of the bookstore.

"Okay, we'll meet you at the ice cream parlor," Mick said.

"Sounds great!" Amber pulled Nina out the door before she could lift her hand all the wave goodbye.

Mick, Jerome, Alfie, Amber, Nina and I (Patricia needed help with Biology, so Mara stayed at the house to tutor her) had all decided to spend the evening in town. We were going to eat ice cream shortly, then going to see a movie.

"So, are you happy that you and Amber are friends again?" Alfie asked Mick as we all checked out our books.

"Of course I am. But I think the really story now is between Fabian and Nina. So how is everything going?" Mick asked, prodding at my side with his elbow.

"How many times must I tell you that Nina and I are just friends?" I answered, irritated. Partly because they asked me this all the time, and partly because I wanted them to be right.

"As long as it takes you two to get together!"

"Don't hold your breath." I looked at the librarian. "Thanks," I told her, and we all walked out. We started walking toward the ice cream parlor, and I heard Amber's soprano voice let out an ear-piercing shriek.

_NINA!_

Not even thinking, all of us boys sprinted off toward the scream as fast as we could. I peered down an alleyway to see three guys having Nina and Amber pressed up against a brick building in the back.

"Don't shout like that. You're only going to be like little fish. We'll catch you, do what we want, then throw you right back," one of them said in a harsh yet sickly-sweet voice.

Nina, her eyes filled with so much fear that I thought she might break, almost visibly brightened when she saw us start creeping toward them quietly. But she knew she couldn't let them know that we were here, so she glared at the ring leader.

"What makes you think we'll be so easy to catch?" she asked him bravely, keeping the shaking out of her voice. Only I, who was so in tune to her voice, knew that she was hiding the underlying terror.

Two of them laughed as if this was a joke. "_Trust me_. You can't be _that_ hard."

By this time, Mick, Alfie, Jerome and I had made a line behind them.

"Step. Away. From. Them." My voice was sharp as razors as my instinct to protect my love kicked in.

The perverts all turned to us, realizing they were screwed when they saw they were outnumbered by us. So then they looked at each other, and the leader grabbed Nina, his hand sliding under her shirt.

"NINA!" Amber shrieked. Tears fell from both girls eyes, and Nina was writhing in the man's grasp, trying desperately to free herself from the hand that was inching its way up her stomach.

"Let her go!" Mick and I growled at the same time. My fists shook as I prepared to throw a punch at the one holding Nina.

Then, all at once, Mick and I punched the two sidekicks in the stomach as Alfie whisked Amber away from them, and Jerome punched the leader in the jaw, making Nina fall forward. The boys all ran off as fast as they could, and Nina fell into Jerome's arms.

But she jumped out just as quickly, sobbing and cringing away from him as if she was scared of him.

Considering the fact that she knew she had nearly just been raped by three evil men, she probably would be scared of boys. That saddened me as I realized Nina would now be terrified of me as well.

But instead of trying to hide from me like I figure she would, she ran from Jerome's arms straight into mine. Shocked, I quickly wrapped my arms around her to hug her as she cried into my collarbone. "Shh, Nina, you're safe," I kept promising her, burying my head in her hair.

After a good forty-five minutes of us standing with the girls in the alleyway, I had finally calmed myself down enough to be able to be concerned about Nina. "Nina, listen to me. Did he end up touching you at all?" I asked her. I had really been trying _not _to stare at where his hand had been going, which I guess was sort of a bad idea now that I look back on it.

She couldn't answer. She only nodded her head and sniffled as she kept trying to stop bawling.

My hands tightened on her back as I fought the fury that made me want to let go of Nina and hunt down the pervs and kill them with my own bare hands. But I knew she needed me now, so I hugged her closer and whispered to her. "Don't worry, Nina. I won't ever let you get hurt."

"Guys, we should get them back to the house. They could get sick right now, or even faint, and we don't need that on top of everything else," Alfie pointed out.

"He's right," Mick agreed. Amber, who was now fighting to keep her eyes open from exhaustion and stress, was tucked under his arm and they led the way out.

"Let's go, Nina," I told her. I tried to get her to release me so that I could lead her to a cab, but she wouldn't budge. Alfie decided to help out and out his hand on Nina's wrist, trying to pry it from my neck.

Nina shrieked and cringed away from him, closer into me.

I decided that she wouldn't make it and bent slightly to put my hand under her knees to carry her. She was extremely light, so walking with her out of the alley was no problem. Jerome, trying to lighten the mood, said, "Wow, Fabes, I didn't know you could carry her."

I just glared.

We got two cabs. Me, Nina and Jerome in one, Mick, Amber, and Alfie in the other. Nina fell asleep on the way back to school, so I held her quietly in my arms as we rode.

"Did you see her reactions, Fabian? Whenever Alfie and I tried to touch her, she could only scream. But she ran straight to you. I think you might be the only male she trusts now. She seemed to know you wouldn't hurt her, but all of us were more like rapists to her."

"She's got to be in the middle of post-traumatic stress right now, so it is possible I guess."

"If you are the only man on the planet that can even touch her now, Fabian, she has to trust you with her life more than anyone else, herself included. You are going to have a big responsibility to help her heal if it's true."

"If it's for Nina, then there is _nothing _I won't do to make her happy again."

**So, there we go! This is chapter one, and I am definitely going to need some reader input on this story to keep it going, because I really have np idea what to do with it after the next chapter or two. So please give me some ideas and I try to use them!**

**-Shannon**


	2. Chapter 2

I carried Nina into Anubis house when Jerome said he'd pay the cabbie. Nina woke up as I was going up the front steps and pressed herself into me.

"Hey, guys how was—TRUDY!" Patricia shouted when she saw the girl in my arms.

I sat down on the couch with Nina still in my arms as Trudy and Mara came rushing in.

"What happened?" Trudy asked in the most alarmed tone I'd ever heard.

Nina knew we had to tell the truth, so she cringed into me, not wanting to relive the memory. I felt teardrops running onto my shirt again, and it made in nearly as hard for me to tell the story as it would have been for her. But I did it, not stopping until I reached the part of us getting out of the alley.

All of them were teary-eyed by then, too, wishing it had never happened.

"Do you think we should get them to a doctor?" Mara asked concernedly.

"There would be no use. They weren't _actually _molested," I told her.

"But we could go to the police. It could count as sexual assault," Patricia suggested.

I shook my head. "I'm not going to put Nina and Amber through that. They'd end up having to testify and give statements. I don't think they could do that right now."

"Fabian, what happened to your hand?" Mara suddenly asked.

I looked down to see that my knuckles were a little bruised. "Oh. I guess it just happened when I punched that guy. No big deal."

So Mick, Amber, and Alfie arrived just after that, and Trudy told Mick and me to take the girls to bed, and we would see how they were in the morning.

So I brought Nina up to her room, resting her head on the pillow and taking off her shoes before pulling the duvet cover over her.

"Fabian," she spoke for the first time, her voice broken and absolutely terrified, "don't leave me."

"Please stay here tonight Fabian. I'm still scared," Amber begged, though her condition wasn't as severe.

"Fabian, I'll go tell Trudy you are staying up here and bring you some blankets and pillows," Mick told me, already knowing I would stay if Nina requested it.

So I did just that. I stayed overnight for them, sleeping in a pallet on the floor.

And if they thought I was protecting them, then I didn't mind the slightest.

**Okay, so this chapter was sort of a filler. The next chapter will be the day after, and I will be a lot longer. Sorry this one was so short! The new one should be up tomorrow night.**

**-Shannon**


	3. Chapter 3

I woke at dawn the next morning, my back stiff from sleeping on the ground.

Nina was also awake, her eyes swollen and still looking pale from last night.

"Morning," she said in a whisper, her voice sounding not much better than it had. She didn't smile, either, as she normally would when she greeted me. Instead, her face remained a mask of sadness that I worried might be permanent.

"Good morning," I replied, stretching before I sat up.

She scooted over on the bed and patted the bed next to her. So I sat next to her, absolutely amazed that she was still okay with me being close to her. She cuddled into my side, resting her head on my shoulder.

I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her slightly closer to me. I noticed she was shaking slightly, but I knew it wasn't from being cold.

"Thanks for staying," she murmured quietly.

"Of course, Nina. I'm here for anything you need."

We sat there in silence for about an hour. Nina didn't ever stop shaking, but I really didn't expect her to. When Amber woke up, we all went down for breakfast.

Everyone but Mick was already in the dining room enjoying the eggs, toast, and bacon Trudy had prepared for us.

We sat down, and—after some convincing—I got Nina to eat way more than I thought she would—almost half of her plate. The table was unusually quiet, but none of us were much in the mood for talking.

"Morning, everyone," Mick told us as he entered, putting a comforting hand on Nina's shoulder.

I realized a moment too late that he was going to touch her.

Nina's scream reverberated throughout the house, and she started crying again.

"Sorry!" Mick apologized, moving his hand away from her as fast as he could.

Nina's shoulders shook as she tried not to sob, and I quickly got up, lifting her out of her chair and bringing her to the living room. I sat in one of the chairs, settling her in my lap as I rocked her back and forth, quietly shushing her as I wiped the tears from her face. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my friends exchange a worried glance as they watched my comfort her, then Jerome filled Mick in on the current situation involving people touching Nina.

"What was that screaming all about?" Victor's sharp voice echoed throughout the house as he walked in.

"Victor, perhaps I should talk to you in private," Trudy suggested, not wanting Nina and Amber to have to listen to the story again. So the two of them left, walking out on the porch for their discussion.

I got Nina to stop crying, and she looked up at our friends—Mick specifically. "Sorry," she told him quietly.

"It isn't your fault, Nina. I just forgot that we have to be…careful at the moment," Mick replied with a guilty look.

"Are you alright?" I asked her, rubbing her arm comfortingly.

"As much as I can be right now," she answered shakily.

I kissed her forehead, wondering how she could trust me so entirely. Why me? Out of all men on the planet, she had chosen me to trust. I honestly couldn't even fathom it.

"Fabian!" Victor called as the door opened, his voice sharp. "My office. Now."

I sighed and patted Nina's back. She stood, allowing me to get up, and I hugged her one last time before I left to go upstairs.

Victor and Trudy were already in his office, and Victor spoke to me first. "Nina's condition is more severe than Amber's, is it not?" I nodded. "I will talk to Mr. Sweet about Nina, see if I can get permission for you two to stay together throughout school. But no one other than our house, the school faculty, and Amber and Nina's parents, should they choose to tell them, may know about what happened. Things could get bad for the two of them if everyone found out. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," I mumbled.

"And if Nina should need you in the middle of the night, or she isn't feeling well so she misses school, you are okay to walk around after lights out, and you can stay at home with her if you need to. As long as she needs you, we don't mind you bending the minor rules," Trudy interjected.

"This agreement is broken should you stop caring for her, though, Fabian."

"Trust me, sir, I don't plan on leaving her side any time soon."

"Good. You are dismissed."

I breathed a sigh of relief once I was out of the torture chamber. At least I knew I could do whatever it took to heal Nina, and we could miss classes together tomorrow if she wasn't feeling up to it.

When I got back downstairs, Mick had gone out for a run, Jerome and Alfie were vaporizing aliens, Mara was doing homework, and Patricia was curled up with Amber trying to get her to read a magazine. Nina hadn't really seemed to move since I left. She had just sat back down in the chair, curling her feet up. I walked up to her, kneeling down beside the chair. "Nina, do you maybe want to go for a walk around the grounds? You could probably use some fresh air."

She nodded a little. "Okay. But first I have to go take a shower and brush my teeth. I feel absolutely disgusting."

I chuckled. She certainly didn't _look _repulsive. "Alright. I'll meet you back down here in half an hour."

So we went our separate ways, and I decided I could probably use a shower as well. So as soon as I heard the water shut off upstairs, I hopped in and was back out in less than ten minutes. I quickly finished getting ready and still managed to beat her to the door.

She arrived a few minutes after me, pulling a sweater on over her shirt before I led her outside. "Thanks for staying last night, Fabian. I don't know what I would have done without you here to help me."

"Don't worry about it. I'm here for as long as you need me." I continued on, telling her everything Victor and Trudy had told me a little bit ago. She listened quietly and intently, nodding every once in a while at something I'd told her.

She was silent for a while after that. We just walked around campus quietly, looking at everyone else's carefree lives, and I remembered when ours had been the same way. It already seemed like so long ago.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by Nina's arm looping through mine. I could feel her shaking again, and I looked down to see tears in her eyes. "Fabian, I have to tell you the whole story. Amber and I were on our way to the boutique when we saw one of the guys following us. So we tried to walk faster, but then we saw the other two coming in the other direction. So Amber pulled me into the alley—stupid, huh? They followed, and the leader pushed me up against the wall. He-he kissed me. And that's when Amber screamed. She was trying to get help, but…it only made it worse. He got rougher, and I p-pushed him away right before you could save us."

"That sick bastard kissed you?" I asked unbelievingly. That-that…

She breathed in shakily, wiping her eyes.

What was I doing? She had just told me the whole story, something that should have been nearly impossible, and here I was trying to get her to repeat it! I was just as screwed up as the perverts were. "Nina, I'm sorry. Don't even answ—"

"It's okay, Fabian. Yeah. He ruined my first kiss."

Her…first kiss? She had never been kissed before? He stole that from her! But…your first kiss is supposed to be with someone you care about…It shouldn't be forced, or something you get pressured into. It was what you made it.

"No, that wasn't you first kiss, Nina. You get to decide when that will be. With someone you care about, when you are ready for it to happen, then you'll have your first kiss. But what that man did to you was _certainly _not your first kiss."

She stopped us, looking up at me before burying her face in my neck and hugging me. "I'd be dead right now if it weren't for you," she murmured quietly. "Who knows what they would have done to me, but you were there to save me, Fabian."

I kissed her forehead, wrapping my arms around the body that never seemed to stop shivering. "And I always will be, Nina. I swear to you, I'll always be your protector."

**Okay, so this was only supposed to be half of a chapter, but it ended up getting WAY too long, so I had to cut it in half. I'll post the other half tomorrow. This chapter wasn't my favorite, but I think it's still sort of okay. What did **_**you **_**think? Review and let me know! And let me know about anymore ideas on future chapters.**

**-Shannon**


	4. Chapter 4

I brought her back to the house a little less than an hour later, and the two of us sat down on the couch to watch a movie. She sat down by the arm, and I sat next to her, so she shifted and put her head on my right shoulder, draping her right arm across my stomach. I put my arm around her and pulled a blanket off of the back of the couch spreading it over our legs.

The opening credits to _When in Rome _came on (Nina's favorite movie—don't know why.), and Trudy brought us both some water.

"Thanks," we told her. I got Nina to take a sip of it, but I leaned forward when I set it back on the coffee table. So we settled back into the same position we had been in, enjoying each other's company while we watched the movie. But she fell asleep—thank goodness. She could use the rest—about half way through, so I turned it off and read a science book than was on the coffee table.

I was just reading a chapter on solar weather when I heard snickering coming from the foyer. I looked over to see Jerome, Alfie, and Patricia smiling smugly at me.

"What?" I asked innocently. Was it really my fault that Nina wanted comforting? No. Which was exactly why my arm was around her as she napped, why I had been smiling while reading about CME's and solar flares, why I had been breathing deeper than usual, inhaling her scent (strawberry and vanilla).

"You are _so_ loving this. This is the perfect excuse for you to hold her, kiss her forehead, sweet-talk—"

"Jerome, they could have died last night. Nina has PTSD, she's scared to death, and she needs me. Do you really think that that is even on my mind right now? I don't know when—if ever—she's going to get better. All I care about right now is that she gets better."

Nina's head snuggled a little closer into my neck, and I immediately felt my face soften at the touch. I rubbed her back in little circles as I looked at our friends.

Patricia smiled when she saw this, though hers wasn't nearly as snarky as the boys'. "You really love her, don't you?"

I just smiled and rested my chin on top of Nina's head.

Alfie gagged. Jerome rolled his eyes. Patricia grinned, a little bit sad.

Nina's arm tightened around my waist, her head pushing itself against my neck. Her breath started coming in short gasps.

"What's happening?" Patricia asked, suddenly terrified by her friend.

"She's having a nightmare!" I snapped, rubbing Nina's arm to wake her up. "Nina, get up. You have to wake up!"

Her eyes snapped open, and she immediately jumped away from me, seeming frightened that I had been so close to her. But then she realized it was me, and she moved herself back into my arms as tears started to leak from her eyes. One hand clutched my shirt, the other hugging me tightly as she cried.

"Shh, it's okay. Calm down," I rubbed her back quietly, knowing just holding her was nearly the only thing I could do.

Patricia wiped a tear of her own away, and I saw that Jerome and Alfie had sobered up as well. Nina just sat, shaking as much as she had been since last night as she cried.

"It was about them, wasn't it?" I asked her.

She nodded.

"I um—have homework I need to do," Patricia said quickly, wiping away her traitor tears before turning to go up the stairs, bumping into Jerome on her way.

"Right. And we've got places to go, people to prank. So we'll catch you later." Then Jerome and Alfie were gone as well.

I gave Nina her glass of water, which she took one sip of before setting it back on the coffee table.

"I'm glad you're here, Fabian," she told me quietly.

I smiled at her, then stood up, taking her hands in mine to help her up as well. "Let's get you something to eat."

"It's okay; I'm not very hungry," she denied.

"You may not be hungry, but your body still needs the nutrients. Come on; just eat some fruit or something."

She sniffled. "Can I have a fruit salad?"

I laughed. "Of course you can." I draped the blanket over her shoulders and let her to the kitchen, where I proceeded to pull out various fruits, putting them all together in a bowl. I got her to sit down and eat most of it, but she refused to eat anymore once she could see the bottom of the bowl.

So then we moved back in the couch, Nina with a notebook and paper. She sat in my lap, stretching her legs out across the couch as she wrote.

"Play Hangman with me," she said, drawing the frame and noose.

I chuckled. "Okay. Give me a category."

"Person."

So I sat there guessing letters for a while, and I finally figured out the puzzle when I was about to die. Guess what it was? 'Fabian is awesome'.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't know that I can agree to that."

"Well then, I guess it's a good thing that no one asked you. Next puzzle."

That one ended in, 'He is too modest'.

Needless to say, I refused to play after that round. So then we played Tic-Tac-To, but we were to smart for it. Neither one of us ended up winning (even after 14 games).

"Okay, so let's just play my fortune teller game," she finally decided after she realized neither of us would win.

So she taught me her random prediction method. Write four people's names, two numbers, seven salaries, three jobs… then make a swirl and count the rings. That's where I got lost with it.

We sat there playing games until dinner, when Trudy served us all soup and bread, and we all sat quietly at the table. Who knew silence could be this loud?

"Soo…do we have any plans for tonight?" Amber eventually asked, breaking the silence. I noticed she didn't look quite as perky as usual, but she was still Amber all the same.

"Well, I suppose we could all play a board game," Jerome suggested.

"No. There is a reason they are called 'board games' and that is because only pathetic losers play them when the are completely bored!" Amber explained. She actually got a little laugh out of all of us—Nina included.

"Well, we could build a tower of cards. I know Fabian is really good at that. He could help if we need it," Mara suggested quietly.

"That sounds good," Alfie and Jerome agreed.

So that's what they did. Nina and I sat on the couch watching them while they tried (unsuccessfully) time and time again to get their tower of two feet tall. The two of us laughed every time they cried at its demise, and they got mad at me when I refused to help them. I was just having too much fun sitting on the couch with Nina tucked into my side.

Nina got tired around eight o'clock and decided to go to bed. Amber went up with her, and Patricia and Mara went up to their room to do some homework that was due tomorrow.

Mick and I went off to our room about an hour later, and I strummed absentmindedly on my guitar while Mick went over some stuff on his UCLA scholarship. We all went to sleep at ten when we heard Victor's 'pin drop' speech in the foyer.

-Insert line here-

I woke up in the middle of the night when I heard my bedroom door open and close. It was Nina, standing by my door with a throw blanket over her shoulders, looking utterly horrified.

I glanced over a Mick, who was still snoring soundly, and sat up in my bed.

"I h-had a another nightmare," Nina said quietly, and I could see her wipe a tear away from her eye. "Can…can I sleep in here?"

"Of course you can, Nina." I scooted over and lifted the blankets up for her to climb under. She scampered over and laid next to me, snuggling her back up against my chest. I wrapped one arm around her, settling back down to sleep with the strawberry and vanilla scent of her hair wafting around me. I was slept for the rest of the night in utter peace.

**Okay, so I didn't necessarily like this chapter all that much either, but I was about half-awake when I wrote most of it. Sorry it took so long to update; I've had a very…dramatic couple of days. Anyway, let me know what you think! Oh, and I could use some help on the next chapter—I've got no clue about what to write. Thanks for reading!**

**-Shannon**


	5. Chapter 5

I awoke in the morning to the sound of snickering boys. I opened one eye to see Jerome, Alfie, and Mick all string down at Nina and me.

"What?" I asked them quietly, still sounding annoyed.

"Oh, so you're finally awake. Good, I didn't think I could handle anymore of you two sleep-talking. 'Oh, I love you, Fabian!' 'I love you, Nina!'" he mocked."

"Oh shut up! And get out of here before she wakes up. She'll probably have a heart-attack or die from embarrassment or something."

With one last laugh, Alfie and Jerome filed out the door.

"Did we really say that in our sleep?" I asked as soon as the door clicked shut.

Mick smiled. "Maybe a couple hundred times. But it wasn't in the tone Jerome used. It was more like you two muttering. To be honest, I thought you had both woken up at first. You both smiled a little bit when you said it, so I thought you were like—conscious of your actions. I finally figured out you were still sleeping when Nina muttered something about Victor being evil and killing 'Sarah's' parents. I guess she was dreaming or something—who knows?"

I knew perfectly well that what Nina had said was true, but it was a good thing he had thought she was dreaming.

She stirred slightly, her head turning up a little bit, then she opened her eyes.

"Morning," she said quietly, looking up at me.

"Good morning," I murmured.

"Okay, I'm just going to breakfast. I'll see you both later," Mick said, quickly leaving the room.

"I guess we better get ready," Nina sighed, moving to get up.

"Nina, Victor and Trudy said that we don't have to go to school today. We can just stay here."

She cracked a smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I know. But people will ask why we were both absent yesterday, and I don't want the whole world to know what happened."

She was strong, I'd give her that. "But Nina, are you sure you are ready?"

"Fabian, just sitting at home for one day isn't going to make much of a difference." She got up and made her way to the door, acting much like she had before the…accident. "I'll see you in just a little bit, okay? I'm going to jump in the shower."

I decided to do the same, and I sat down to eat breakfast about ten minutes before her. We ate waffles and strawberries (Nina only ate half of one and about three strawberries), and went off to endure what was sure to be a long and stressful day of school.

**Random Student's POV**

Fabian Rutter and Nina Martin walked in the school building together—as always. But I think they had become an item during the weekend. Nina had both of her hands clutching his arm tightly, and the two of them looking stressed. They had purple shadows under their eyes as if they hadn't slept over the weekend. But they definitely acted like a couple by their body language. She held on to him, he gazed lovingly at her. It was cute and totally confusing at the same time.

Throughout the day, I noticed he never left her alone, and they always had some kind of physical contact—holding hands, his arm around her, her holding onto his arm. It seemed that he never let any other male specimen near Nina. She shied away from them in the halls like she was terrified of them, and Fabian seemed to be protecting her from them. Whenever someone would brush her hand in the hall or something you could see her press into him, and he would always rub her arm in comfort.

They were definitely a topic of discussion that day. _Everyone _seemed to be gossiping about them. Many stories spread around. 'Nina fell into his arms and they finally kissed', or 'Fabian got jealous of Jerome Clark and admitted his feelings to her'. But none seemed logical. All anyone knew for a fact was that something life changing had happened to them over the weekend. And no one thought they would ever actually know what had really happened, either.

**I figured that it might be good to have a third party observer's opinion in there without Amber thinking 'GET TOGETHER ALREADY!' or Fabian thinking 'Oh, no. Everyone is staring at her'. So I came up with this. And I finally figured out how they get together and all, but now I am trying to figure out how to build up to that. But I'm definitely working on it and I'll update again soon!**

**Also, thanks to everyone who has been reviewing! I love you guys, and it really helps me to hear your opinions on what I write. So please keep reviewing and giving me your input on something I might want to add in here!**

**-Shannon**


	6. Chapter 6

Nina and I came straight home after school, and I helped her with her homework. Then we sat quietly in the living room while we did some reading.

Our silence was interrupted by Amber. "Alright, for the sake of trying to ne as normal as possible, I'm throwing a party."

Nina and I groaned. "Is that really the best idea?" I asked.

"We don't want people to know what really happened, do we? No. And twenty people asked me if you two are dating today. So, unless we want them to figure it out, either you two have to tell them that you are a couple, or Nina has to stay away from you at school. Or people _will_ find out."

As awful as it sounded, I knew Amber was right. And from one look at Nina, I could tell our thoughts were in the same place. "Okay, so Nina and I are now publically a couple."

Amber smiled. "Well, now you're half way there. Can we say that the party is in honor of you two getting together?"

"Why not?" Nina agreed, grinning at her.

I smiled myself at the fact that she was somewhat happy.

"Okay. Party tomorrow night, 6 to 9 o'clock."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Nina asked as soon as Amber left the room.

"Of course I do," I replied immediately. "If this is what we have to for everyone to leave you alone, then we will."

"But you would have to give up _actually _going out with someone here. I don't want to make you give up dating, going to prom—"

"But I'm _not _technically giving it up."

"Okay, yeah, you'll be dating me, but not because you want to be with me. I want you to be able to date who you want!"

"Nina, I _want _to do this. Don't worry about me. I _promise _you I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't want to."

She looked at me, trying to decipher my true feelings, even though I'd already told her.

"Children! Supper!" Trudy called, snapping us out of our trance.

Nina kissed my cheek and stood, waiting for me to come with her. She hugged my waist as we walked to the table, her head buried in my shoulder. "Thank you," she whispered.

I hesitated for a second, wondering if I should push her. But she had been almost normal since we got home, so I figured she would be okay. So I kissed the top of her head, making her grin up at me.

_Is Nina okay?_ I wondered. She seemed to be acting like nothing was wrong. It made me think that maybe she was fine, and we didn't need to pretend to be a couple. I wondered if she would be okay if Mick or Jerome or even Alfie were to touch her at all. Because she really _shouldn't _have been alright with me kissing her at all. But then again, she also shouldn't have been okay with me sleeping with her, and she shouldn't have been holding on to me all the time. I guess it was a mystery I would never solve.

I pulled her chair out for her, then sat next to her. All our friends got there, too. Dinner was delicious (as always), and fairly enjoyable, other than when Jerome and Alfie had their food fight as usual.

Afterwards, Nina and I went to sit on the couch to read again. But—of course—we were interrupted by Amber.

"Nina, come on! I need you to come with me to pick out your outfit for tomorrow night!" she demanded.

Nina shrunk into me. "But Fabian won't be able to come."

"So? He'll be right down stairs, and all you are going to do is try on clothes."

"Nina, you'll be fine. I promise. Go have fun with Amber for a while," I encouraged. I didn't want her to leave, but I knew it would be good for her to do something with Amber for girl-time.

Hesitantly, Nina nodded and got up from the couch.

"Amber," I called to her as she and Nina walked out, "be careful. She has limits right now."

She smiled at me, her I-know-something-I-won't-say-in-front-of-you twinkle coming into her eyes. "I won't Fabian." Then she led Nina up the stairs, and I heard the slamming of two doors a moment later.

"Hey, mate, what's wrong with Nina?" Jerome asked, coming in from the foyer. "I mean, I know there is a lot wrong right now, but she looked like you just abandoned her. She shaking really badly, and I think I saw her about to cry."

"Amber is making her try on a bunch of outfits for the party."

"Ooooh, right. You and Nina are finally stepping out. I forgot about that."

"We aren't actually dating, Jerome! I'm honestly worried to death right now if she ever _will _find a guy she isn't scared to death of!"

"She isn't scared of you," he stated.

"No, she's not. Do you have a point?"

"If she isn't scared of you, isn't it safe to say she already _has _found a guy she would date?"

"She…she doesn't feel that way about me. You know that."

Jerome shook his head. "No. Everyone has been waiting for you two to get together. We all see that you like each other. We all sort of thought that after all this, maybe you would man up enough to finally ask her on a date."

"Fabian!" Patricia's frantic voice called. "Help! It's Nina!"

I jumped up and ran out of the room so fast I almost made Jerome fall over from being so startled. "What is it?" I demanded as I climbed the stairs two at a time.

"I don't know. She seemed really scared when she came up, and then she just broke out crying. Amber and Mara can't get her to calm down," she explained as we speed-walked to the room.

My heart sank when we entered. Nina was curled up in a ball on the bed, Amber and Mara on either side of her, trying to stop her frantic crying.

I walked over and wiped away some of her tears. "Shh, Nina, it's okay. I'm right here."

She didn't open her eyes, but her arms immediately went around my neck as she cried, and I simultaneously picked her up bridal-style and walked her out of the room, leaving the teary-eyed girls behind.

"It's okay. Nothing is happening. You're fine." I sat down on the couch with her in my lap. all our housemates crowded in the room with us, watching Nina with wide, horrified eyes. "What scared you?" I asked her gently.

She shook her head. "No_thing _scared me_._ It just freaked me out to be away from you. I wasn't safe anymore."

I chuckled once, but it wasn't a happy laugh. It was mostly in irritation and confusion.

Amber put her hand over her mouth, a single tear falling from her eyes. Mick hugged her in comfort. The rest of them were just staring blankly at us.

I ignored them, holding Nina to me and patting her back softly until she calmed down.

"I'm okay," she finally said quietly, smiling up at me.

So we all settled into our evening routines, and Nina sat in my lap, stretching her legs across the couch as we balanced an Egyptian mythology book on her thighs to read.

"Fabes?" she asked.

"Hmm?"

"Does it ever scare the living poop out of you to know that we live in the House of Death?"

I laughed at her randomness, remembering when she used to say that. "Nina, you say that all the time. And what do I always reply?"

She smiled at me and quoted, "'A house is a house, even if it can talk.'"

I grinned back at her. "Exactly." I kissed her temple, making her laugh.

"Hey, look at this." She pointed at a page about Horus and Anubis. We read all about that, joking around as we did so. She would make a comment, so I would make fun of it somehow, and she would always laugh and ruffle my hair or lightly hit me on the shoulder.

Amber and Mara seemed to find us entertaining. They watched us laughing and called Jerome and Alfie. Soon we had everyone in Anubis House spying on us, thinking we weren't aware of their presence.

After about two hours, they all finally got bored, so Alfie said, "Let's watch a movie!"

So we watched _The Mummy_. Nina fell asleep about halfway through, her head resting on my shoulder (she never had moved from my lap. Don't know why.).

"Guys, I'm going to take her to bed," I told them. I lifted her up and carried her toward her room. Her hands held on to my shirt, and her head buried itself in my arm as we ascended the staircase.

I heard an "Aww," from the living room that could have only come from Amber. I rolled my eyes, though none of them could see.

I tucked Nina into her bed and kissed her forehead. I straightened up to leave, but the fingers that had never let go of my shirt tightened, not letting me move. I saw Nina smiling softly. Her eyes never opened, but she whispered, "Stay." She scooted over in the bed, giving me room to lie next to her.

Smiling, I did just as she said wrapped my arm around her. She rested her head against my collarbone and put her arms around me neck.

"Fabian?" she murmured.

"Yes?"

"Love you."

I didn't know how that was supposed to be interpreted. It could have meant as a brother, lover, or a friend. But as long as she loved me (even if it wasn't in the way I hoped), I was happy. Utterly and completely content.

**Okay, I'm SO sorry I didn't update like I said I would, but I ended up having a birthday dinner Friday night, company all Saturday, and then a Mardi Gras bell Saturday night. But there y'all go, and another chapter will be posted soon. Thank you for reading, and I LOVE all you reviewers ****.**

**-Shannon**


End file.
